


Just Deserts

by acme146



Series: Almost Like A Prophecy [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angels Are Watching Over You, Angst with a Happy Ending, Archangel Gabriel (Supernatural), Big Brother Gabriel, Brother Feels, Canon Temporary Character Death, Fluff, It's All Gabriel's Fault, M/M, Season 5 Spoilers, Surprise Guest Stars Ship It, Trickster Gabriel, canon compliant AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-03-06
Packaged: 2018-05-23 15:36:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6121162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acme146/pseuds/acme146
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Right before Gabriel left Heaven, he took one peek into the future...and made a small addition to the Apocalypse blueprint. As he becomes the Trickster and the world draws closer to the end, Gabriel fights to make his plan a reality, while trying to keep from falling for anyone or anything, whether it's humanity as a whole or one particularly tall, Lucifer's-vessel-esque example of it. When the dust settles, Gabriel hasn't quite succeeded, but a little help from two unexpected sources will ensure that everyone gets their just deserts.<br/>This story is a companion to The Truth That Once Was Spoken (part one of this series). I would recommend reading that first, everything will make more sense.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Castiel

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings! This is the other side of 'The Truth', which includes a joke that I've wanted to be canon since I noticed it in season 2. This will focus more on Gabriel's (and later Sam's) story, though don't fret, Destiel will make an appearance.  
> In this first chapter, I would just like to point out that I've scoured the internet for more specific information about the names and structures of the angel garrisons and...I've come up with very little, hence the poetic license of the name of Cas' garrison. Hopefully that doesn't take away from the story.  
> Which begins, incidentally, just after the Fall. Heaven is quiet, God is MIA and one archangel's gotten fed up with it all.

Gabriel knew it was time to go.

The last Days of Mourning were past, the Heavenly Host was back in place and Castiel had finally learned to fly. Heaven was peaceful again, if quieter than before. If he was going to go, it had to be now.

Gabriel sighed. He wanted to stay, more than anything, but he couldn’t take it anymore. The memory of Lucifer’s angry, terrified, _broken_ eyes as he fell, Michael’s sword lodged in his wing…the angels who’d chosen to fight beside him exploding into white light as the faithful smote them…Metatron’s smug face when the realization that his Father was actually gone for good hit Gabriel…

No. If this is what it meant to be an angel, he was done. Screw Heaven.

There was just one last thing he had to do.

Checking for Michael—he was on the other side of Heaven, excellent—he strolled casually to the Hall of Records. He just wanted one last peek at the Vessels.

He already hated them, the Righteous Man and the Boy King. Gabriel didn’t mind humans; they seemed like interesting creatures so far. But they had taken his brother away from him, devastated Heaven, and then 2,000 years from now these two were going to make it all happen again. Gabriel figured he was allowed to hate _them_ and give the rest of humanity a pass.

The only glimpse he’d gotten was at Michael’s side, and Michael had refused to let Gabriel see them clearly. “Why are you so interested, brother?” he’d asked. “Neither of them are yours.”

_Selfish bastard._

Now he was alone as he stared at the Pool. He could take one quick look, memorize their faces, and then be free to run as far away as he could from them, for as long as he could.

It was easy to call up an image. There they were, two bright souls. Brothers, motherless from their youth, fatherless in adulthood. Gabriel felt a bit of a twinge at that, but he ignored it. Of course there were parallels. That was the point.

Concentrating, he let the souls cloak themselves in mortal flesh. He was surprised by their looks. Lucifer’s vessel…Sam…was much taller than his older brother. Shaggy haired and strong, he had surprisingly gentle features. Dean, Michael’s vessel, had much sharper features, but there was still something in his green eyes that spoke of a heart, some softness, especially when he was looking at his brother.

Lucifer and Michael were going to tear these kids apart.

Gabriel shook his head. Unimportant.

Now that he was looking at them, he wondered who they were. What did they do in their day to day lives, what was it like for them in the 21st century, when they would break the Seals?

The answers came the moment he asked. Sam and Dean were hunters: they went after all the monsters Dad had left out of Purgatory, laying ghosts to rest and chopping every monster they came across to pieces. Gabriel watched as their lives whizzed by—not in detail, he wasn’t that invested (wasn’t invested _at all_ , thank you very much)—growing more concerned by the moment. These two had only ever had each other to depend upon. Their dad was a deadbeat; he was chasing revenge for a dead woman, beating his head against a wall of misinformation and destiny, letting his sons grow up without him. They had some family; a drunk old man, a bitter woman and her rebellious daughter were the most prominent, but they didn’t trust them the same way they did each other.

These kids were not going to kill each other.

They just weren’t.

Gabriel growled. _Yes, they were_. They had to. If not the Apocalypse would keep getting delayed. He could handle a couple thousand years waiting for these two to be born so one of his brothers would finally die, but he wasn’t going to wait any longer than he had to.

Maybe he could send them some kind of sign? An angelic one? That should scare them enough, right?

Unless…

Why would they be intimidated by an angel? These boys were well-versed in the supernatural, better than most humans. They were unintimidated by authority, used to staring down danger, and they didn’t seem particularly devout.

There was only one way to find out for sure. Gabriel closed his eyes and _listened_ , searching for some mention of angels. He skipped their childhoods; he needed to warn them in adulthood, after their father died and they learned to trust their own decisions.

He found them in an ugly motel room, in some nameless little town. Gabriel leaned forward and listened carefully.

The brothers were arguing. Apparently Sam believed that the monster they were hunting was in fact an angel. Dean was of the opinion that angels were about “as real as unicorns”, and they were legends that “you file under bull crap”[1], despite his brother’s protests.

Two thoughts immediately came to mind.

The first was Gabriel the Archangel’s. _That boy is going to learn some respect the hard way when Michael makes him his vessel._

The second was an entirely different perspective, one that Gabriel was finding more and more familiar, more and more interesting as he prepared to leave Heaven behind.

_So you don’t believe in angels, do you Dean Winchester? Wouldn’t it be a shame if you… **fell in love with one.**_

That was utterly ridiculous. Archangels weren’t Cupids, for Dad’s sake, they were weapons. Dean Winchester was a Vessel in waiting to him, nothing more.

But… Dean was also a man who hated himself as much as he loved his brother, who set impossible standards for himself and never believed he accomplished anything, who loved pie, his car and women…but also men. Maybe even more so than women. But he couldn’t have the former, because that was wrong. It had to be; didn’t his Dad always say so? And even if he could, he didn’t deserve to have them, because he didn’t deserve to be happy.

He was practically _screaming_ to be proven wrong. He deserved to be proven wrong, too.

Gabriel decided two things. One, he was definitely going to explore this new view on justice when he got to earth. Two, he needed to look into the vessel family trees for the Days Garrison. One of them would rescue the Righteous Man, and what better candidate for Dean’s angel lover?

Gabriel flew over to the scrolls, skimming the lines, considering. It had to be a man, that’s for sure—so a male vessel. A few of them had potential males at the time set for the Apocalypse, and Gabriel went through them. Uriel (HELL NO), Inias (nice kid but no), Balthazar (not quite right)…

Castiel.

Castiel, the fledgling he’d raised since birth. Curious, questioning, faithful Castiel. Terrifying when angry, willing to please, devout and kind.

Perfect.  

Now there was one last thing he had to do.

Gabriel flew to Michael’s presence, poking his head around the door. This Heaven was a library, and Michael was sitting at a desk, engrossed in a scroll. Gabriel felt a quick twinge deep in his Grace; he wouldn’t be seeing Michael again for a long time. _Maybe never_.

Michael looked up. “What do you want, Gabriel?”

Gabriel shrugged. “Not much. Just a quick input on the whole Apocalypse thing.”

Michael sighed, wings arching in agitation. “Can we discuss this later?”

“Just one quick thing, and I’m gone,” Gabriel promised.

Michael inclined his head. “Speak then, brother.”

Gabriel winced. “You said you hadn’t decided on which angel to send after the Righteous Man, right?”

  “I have not. It must be the Days Garrison, of course, but the angel is uncertain.”

“Of course.” Gabriel refrained from displaying his annoyance—he was fairly certain his Father had picked the 'proper' Garrison out of a hat. “Why not send Castiel?”

“Castiel? Your little protégé?” Michael’s wings curved in amusement. “He has just learned to fly, and you already want to send him to Hell?”

“I think he’d be best of them,” Gabriel answered, wings rustling as he thought of Cas flying through Hell with fledgling wings. But no, Cas would be a strong warrior by then, powerful enough to save the Righteous Man and then sweep him off his feet.

Michael’s wings flattened. “As you wish. Will you tell him yourself?”

“You can tell him,” Gabriel said. “It’ll mean more coming from you.”

Michael looked at him carefully. “Are you alright, Gabriel?”

“I’m fine,” Gabriel lied. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

Michael seemed satisfied. “Get some rest, and you will feel more secure. I will send Castiel to you in the morning; you can intensify his training in preparation for his mission.”

Gabriel didn’t answer, merely bowed and left his brother. He looked down at the Earth, far below the shining clouds of Heaven.

It was time to go.  His work here was done.

 

  


[1] Quotes from S2EP13, _Houses of the Holy._


	2. Humanity

Gabriel dove deep into the pagan world. He fashioned a name for himself, a job, even a vessel ( _eat me Michael, you can too make them_ ). Anansi became Loki became the jack-of-all-trades Trickster, and he drowned himself in sex and violence on and off with Kali, though he always went back to laughs and just "desserts" because let’s face it, he’d always been a slave to his sweet tooth.

Still, he kept an eye on the time.

Thousands of years passed. It hurt to think that no one from Heaven had even tried to look for him, but then again he _had_ faked his death. It was just easier that way. He could sometimes still hear chatter through the soundwaves, his siblings talking about various things, and he was relieved to hear that despite occasional battles Castiel was still alive. Finally, when he realized that the Apocalypse was only years away, he set about tracking down the Winchesters—the vessels.

And of course he found them by accident.

Loki had set up shop at a university—just killing time, serving a few people some sweet justice. He planned to go after the Winchesters shortly, as soon as he finished going through the book of urban legends he picked up at the campus bookstore.

Which, of course, was exactly when the Winchesters walked into his life and ruined everything.

That time was actually fun—they were still just kids, having the weirdest week of their lives for sure, but he was really just screwing around with them. Loki liked the older brother’s spirit and the younger one’s looks, and so he didn’t kill them. Didn’t stop him from flattening tires or repossessing a laptop (he did give it back when he was done with it), but that was practically pulling pigtails by his standards.

And therein lay the problem. Because he wasn’t supposed to care about these boys at all. Dean, yeah, because he was going to fall in love with Castiel, but that was only going to happen because he would kill his little brother. Sam was not part of this equation; he was Lucifer’s vessel. Loki could not afford to get attached.

So, naturally, the next time he encountered the Winchesters he tried to help Sam.

 _It’s for science,_ he asserted as he watched Dean Winchester’s double die over and over, Sam crumbling every time. _I want to try some new ideas,_ he argued as Sam woke up again and again, trying to fight the invisible force that kept killing his brother. _This idiot kid deserves it_ , he tried to tell himself as he watched Sam ‘live through’ six months without his brother.

Except Sam didn’t, it wasn’t for science, and all the new ideas were distractions from the lesson Sam really deserved to learn, because for once Gabriel was closer to the surface than Loki, and when he came face to face with the hunter it spilled out.

“ **The way you two keep sacrificing yourselves for each other? Nothing good comes out of it. Just blood, and pain** _.” **[1]**_

If Sam had been in any position to understand, if he’d been less sleep-deprived, less grieving, he would have glimpsed the future in that phrase. The demon blood, Ruby, the final altered voice message ( _he was going to murder Zachariah for that),_ becoming Lucifer’s vessel…everything Gabriel had seen coming, he’d just _told_ him. Given it away. Could have ruined the entire game.

“ **It’s going to be the death of you, Sam** _.”_

Because Michael had to win to give humanity half a chance, to give Castiel a chance to be happy, so Sam had to die.

And suddenly Loki didn’t want that. _Gabriel_ didn’t want that.

But it was too late to change anything, too late to realize that Dad damn it, he’d chosen Cassie’s boyfriend...and picked out his brother for himself.

Because Sam wasn’t Lucifer, Sam was _Sam_ , with a too-big heart, even for his massive body, a good mind and a passionate desire to learn about the world.

He also happened to be gorgeous, which did _not mean anyth—_ oh Hell he was dead.

Because he had to save Sam Winchester from dying _and_ keep Dean Winchester alive for Castiel.

The things he did for the people he loved—wow, that’s it, he’s been watching too much TV.

Hmm…

Two years later he went after the Winchesters again, who had Castiel in tow this time, and _wow_ , poor Sam, the eyesex game was _strong_. The TV shows were fun, but once again (this time because of Castiel—excuse him, _Cas_ ) Loki tripped up and let Gabriel take control, and in doing so exposed himself.

And got himself trapped in a ring of holy fire.

But Dean and Sam let him go, and Gabriel was once again reminded of why he was doing this in the first place. Before he’d loved Sam, before he’d loved Castiel even, he loved humanity. They were interesting, exciting, and so many of them tried to go beyond rational self-preservation in order to protect other people.

…

Falling for Sam Winchester was making a lot more sense now.

Gabriel had been willing to follow Michael, but after a bit of snooping around he found out that while Zachariah was still a mega douche, Michael had changed, becoming a lot like his henchmen. Gabriel felt sick as he realized that his brother truly didn’t care about humans anymore, and he barely cared for angels. Something was definitely wrong with Cas, but the younger angel refused to answer his call and Gabriel was left to try to find out what had happened in the little bit of time he had left.

And suddenly, there was no time at all.

Gabriel put Loki’s face on one last time for his pagan cohorts (friends was a wee bit of a stretch) and tried to get them to listen. _Get out of the line of fire_ , he wanted to plead. _I’ll fix this, I swear, just leave the Winchesters alone and run. I’ll deal with my brother_.

Then he got Sam and Dean out the door with his DVD, shooed Kali along with them, and faced his brother. He made an illusion, not to stab Lucifer in the back, just to buy himself some time to try to convince Lucifer not to fight. _Listen, brother_ , he begged. _Don’t do this. I know you don’t want to._

But Lucifer was too far gone, and in one quick, agonizing move he stabbed him through the heart. He’d faked his death a hundred times but this was real, he could feel it, and he knew he’d failed.

Team Free Will were on their own, and the Apocalypse would happen.

Just like he’d wanted for so long.

_Now that’s just deserts._

 

 

[1] Mystery Spot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I promise he's not dead for good!


	3. Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Gabriel has a long overdue conversation with our guest stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold italics are the characters speaking through a mind link rather than out loud, italics are thoughts.

_FloatingfallinggoldblackdarklightwhereamIwhoamI_

_Anansi._

_No._

_Loki._

_No._

_Trickster._

_Yes._

_Brother._

_Yes._

_Son._

_Yes._

_Gabriel._

_Yes!_

Gabriel jerked awake and immediately wished he was still dead. He was in a deep kind of pain, the kind where you can’t even remember what relief would feel like.

 Kali sat beside him. Her form was writhing and glowing, and Gabriel could feel her triumph. **_You are back._**

**_Did you bring me back?_** He could only talk through his true form, though he could feel his vessel clothing him.

**_I did. Your blood. With him._** Kali was never one to waste words.

Gabriel tried to turn his head, but it was too painful. Then a hand touched his forehead and he almost screamed from the shock of that presence, gone so long and completely.

**_Dad?_ **

**_My son._ **

**_You’re—where have you been? Are you back?_ **

**_Not yet._ **

**_What, the Apocalypse wasn’t a good enough reason?_** Gabriel struggled to turn away, but he was too weak.

**_I cannot return fully. Not yet. To hide myself I exist in many places, scattered across the universe._ **

**_How are you with me then?_ **

**_I can stay for a moment. I may still communicate. I will do this much now._ **

**_How nice of you._ **

**_I could not stay, Gabriel. When your brother fell I realized the damage I did by giving free will to only two. I couldn’t trust myself. I left the angels with free will of their own, and went away so far that when I returned I didn’t know who I was. By the time I remembered, it was too late for me to do any good. So I left once more._ **

**_How long have I been gone?  
            _ **

**_Years._ **

**_Castiel?_ **

**_Alive, as well as the Winchesters. Both Sam and Dean are free and well, so far as they may be._ **

**_Dean isn’t free, he must be bound to Cas by now._ **

**_He is not._ **

**_WHAT?!_ **

**_Gabriel, be calm._ **

**_No way! I worked on that for ages, it was set up perfectly._ **

There was anger in his Father’s voice now, but it wasn’t for Gabriel or Castiel. **_Your brother was tortured for his love of Dean Winchester, and fears his own feelings._** Images come into Gabriel's mind, Cas with Zachariah, all of the false visions...

**_What can I do?_** Gabriel felt bleak.

**_You can go back and undo the damage done. Castiel trusts you, and Dean does as well. Go back to them and help them._ **

**_I can?_ **

**_You loved your brother and gave him a chance at happiness, but ultimately did not interfere, you let free will take its course. Help them now that this is what they’ve chosen. That is what I gave you and Lucifer free will for in the first place._ **

**_I had it all along?_ **

**_Yes._ **

**_I knew it!_ **

**_No you didn’t._ **

**_...Dad, will you ever come back?_ **

**_I will try, Gabriel, if you think it wise. I have caused much damage to my children of both kinds, and I deserve the ire so many feel. It may be best to stay away._ **

**_Take it from me. Running only works for so long. Anything’s better than being alone._ **

**_I will try to collect myself Gabriel, at least enough to speak to Castiel as well._** The pain was slowly leaving Gabriel, and he felt his wings rustle back into place. He opened his eyes and looked up at his Father. He rolled his eyes.

**_Better stay away from the Winchesters, Pops, they’re not going to like what they see._ **

**_I did try to help them. As I said, I don’t believe I could have fixed anything. Your Sam and Castiel’s Dean did more than most beings far more powerful than them. I would have only gotten in the way._ **

**_He’s not my Sam._ **

**_No, because you died before you told him. Go tell him now._ **

**_There’s no way he lo-likes me back._ **

**_I’m omniscient, remember? You’ve done well, my son. I have no desire to punish you with false hope._ **

Gabriel managed to sit up all the way. He looked between Kali and his Father. **_You think I should go back, then?_**

**_You need to. You want to. You have to._** Kali was impatient as ever. Gabriel felt a stirring of pride. _That’s my girl._ Even if he wasn’t in love with her anymore, he had to respect her passion.

**_Go and save your charge, find your love, Gabriel. I will follow behind when I can, but know it may take some time._ **

**_But you promise you will?_ **

**_I promise, my son._ **

“Well,” Gabriel said with a crooked smile, finally able to move his tongue, “guess I’d better get going.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going with the Chuck-is-God theory for now, but I made it a wee bit ambiguous as I'm waiting to see what exactly the show does when episode 20 of this season comes out. Cheers, Acme


	4. Sam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which neither Sam or Gabriel knows exactly what to say, but in the end they know exactly how they feel.

Sam thought Loki (Bobby had looked up the specific wood they’d used for the stake and found out it was Loki’s weakness) was funny but a pain in the ass (his laptop still had an annoying tendency to switch to pictures of aliens if he wasn’t paying attention and it was a _different laptop_ ).

Sam hated the Trickster for making him watch Dean turn into a corpse and then back to his living-but-dead-man-walking brother, but the rational part of him understood what the Trickster was saying. He didn’t agree with it—Dean was all he had, and he was _going to save him_ —but he understood it, and kind of appreciated the thought.

Sam didn’t know how he felt about Gabriel.

He understood the archangel’s desire to get away from the ‘family business’, but how could he leave Cas behind? He sympathized with Gabriel not wanting to kill his brothers, but were they even still his brothers? He could see the personas shimmering on top of the archangel’s Grace—two creatures that had tormented him and countless others—so why did something fall out of his heart forever when Gabriel died?

It was a mess of contradictions and confusion and pain and laughter, all shining gold, and Sam was sometimes grateful that Gabriel was gone, if only so he didn’t have to sort out what he felt.

Dean, on the other hand, had it fairly straightforward. He loved Cas, Cas loved him, and they just needed a push in the right direction. Right?

Sam loathed the fact that he was wrong about that.

When Cas had kicked him out of his room and he’d gone to join Dean, Sam was sure he’d destroyed his own brother. He tried to apologize, but Dean would have nothing of it; he just cried on Sam’s shoulder and they drank together and Sam strung together increasingly creative and befuddled curses towards their friend. He couldn’t understand why Cas had been so cruel, but that was for later. Right now he was going to take care of Dean.

And then the next morning came, and Cas wouldn’t wake up, and Dean found a hex bag with a golden feather.

And Gabriel was there.

Sam didn’t really hear what he was saying to Dean; blood was pounding in his ears as he stared at the short archangel who haunted his dreams as often as Lucifer, though in a very different way.

Then Dean drank Dream Root and fell to the floor.

Sam snapped out of it.

“Sam, put him on the bed, okay?”

Sam obeyed without question, picking up his brother and carefully laying him next to Cas. To his surprise Cas immediately snuggled into Dean, who wrapped his arms around him. There was a snap, and the bedclothes changed to a much nicer looking set, Cas and Dean tucked under soft, warm sheets.

Sam turned to Gabriel. He had a thousand questions for the archangel, and a hundred things he wanted to tell him ( _but did he really want to tell him everything?)_ , but he couldn’t find the words.

Gabriel put a finger to his lips. “Let’s give the lovebirds some privacy, okay kiddo?”

Sam nodded without thinking.

Gabriel snapped his fingers again, and the world spun, resolving into a beach that stretched for miles, tropical foliage behind them.

“Where are we?”

“Not in the continental U.S.”

“…Hawaii, then?”

“You’ve always been the smart one.”

Sam put his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground. “What are you doing here, Gabriel? How are you here?”

“Can I answer the second question first?” Gabriel waggled his eyebrows. “I like mixing it up.”

 “You’re really annoying, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told.” Gabriel shrugged. “Like I said, there was enough of me in the world to bring me back. Kali gave my Father my blood, and he managed to tether me back to this vessel. As well as recreate it.”

It took a minute for Sam to process that. “Your Father? As in…”

“Yep, he’s not dead, and man are you going to be pissed when you see him.” Gabriel’s smile faltered. “Cut the guy a bit of slack though—he’d been hiding so long he forgot who he was, and once he did know he thought coming back would make it worse. I can’t exactly throw stones at that glass house.”

Come to think of it, neither could Sam.

 “We both came back, though.”

“And he will too. He promised.”

Sam’s eyes went wide, but before he could start rambling about what they were going to do when capital-G God came back, and when, and how, Gabriel cut him off.

“Anyhoo, back to the first question. My reasons for return are threefold.”

“Did you just quote—”

“No, _Friends_ quoted me. First reason was because I couldn’t actually believe that you three were still alive. Second reason was to get Cas and Dean to form a super bond and become Destiel, because Zachariah put the fear of _everything_ in Cas years ago to keep him from falling in love with Dean…”

“What?!”

“Yeah, hence the Dream Root. Don’t worry, they’ll be fine, they’re too in love to be stupid forever.”

Sam was still trying to process this part of the story—why hadn’t Cas told him? But Gabriel still had one more reason, and now the archangel looked nervous.

“And the third?” he prompted when Gabriel didn’t speak.

“Right. Well, it’s linked to the second. Long story short, 2,000 years ago I looked ahead and saw you and your brother, and when I overheard Dean saying he didn’t believe in angels, I thought it’d be funny to make him fall in love with one. So I picked Castiel to save him from Hell, figured that would be the best love pair.”

“So you wanted to make it happen,” Sam concluded, trying to ignore the fact that Gabriel had been spying on them 2,000 years before they were _born_. “But that was your second reason, wasn’t it?”

Gabriel sighed. “Let me finish, kiddo. I saw your brother….and I saw you too. I saw this goofy looking kid who was going to be Lucifer’s vessel, and I saw something else at the time that I refused to notice. After all, Michael had to win if Dean and Castiel were going to have a chance together, so you were going to have to die, right? No point getting attached. But then I met you in person, saw you more clearly, and I knew you were trouble.”

Sam’s throat went tight. _Boy King. Abomination. Freak._

Gabriel grabbed his hands. “Hey, _no_. That’s not what I meant at all. You’re not any of those things, Sam Winchester. What you were—what you are—is everything I’ve ever wanted.”

Sam just stared, hands clutching at Gabriel’s, so much smaller than his yet so much stronger.

“And I fought it.” Gabriel’s voice was tight. “I fought it and I hurt you and I kept _pushing you_ because if I could prove to myself that you weren’t good for me then I didn’t have to try to be good for you. But even when I tried as hard as I could you kept proving me wrong. You kept trying to _forgive me_.”

“And then you died,” Sam whispered, “and I didn’t know what to think, I just tried to do what you said…”

“And now look at you, kiddo.” Gabriel’s tone turned reverent as he raised a hand and put it over Sam’s heart. “Your soul’s still bright as ever, even after everything. I’m so proud of you, I wanted you to know that.”

Sam looked into Gabriel’s eyes. Once or twice he’d caught a glimpse of the storm behind Cas’ eyes, the bright blue pulses of power and strength and Grace. Now he was drowning in Gabriel’s gold, in pain and laughter and confusion and contradictions, and he almost laughed aloud when he realized that he knew exactly how he felt about Gabriel, because beyond all of those feelings was a deep, true _need_ that went beyond physical and emotional and was pure recognition. _You are what I’ve been waiting for_.

Gabriel took a deep breath, shocked. He must have felt Sam’s surge of joy and understanding, but Sam didn’t wait to let him process it. They’d both been waiting long enough.

He kissed the archangel deeply, hauling him onto his toes and holding him as tightly as he could. Gabriel kissed him back with an intensity Sam could hardly grasp. With his eyes closed, Sam couldn’t really tell which of them was taller, which of them was made of soul and which of Grace.

He lost track of anything but Gabriel for a long time, and when he came back to himself he was on his back, Gabriel straddling him, their foreheads leaned together and Gabriel’s fingers tangled in his hair. Sam reached up and stroked the archangel’s hair out of his eyes.

“I love you,” he whispered. Then he grinned. “In case you couldn’t tell.”     

“Love you too, Samshine,” Gabriel replied, rolling his eyes. He slumped down on top of Sam and Sam tucked his head under his chin, holding his angel close.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Gabriel said quietly. “I missed you.”  
“I missed you too,” Sam whispered.

They lay like that for a long time, listening to the waves and each other’s gentle breathing.

Gabriel propped himself on one elbow. “So our brothers are together right now…and they probably don’t want to be disturbed.”

Sam raised his eyebrows. “Well, we should give them some privacy, right?”

Gabriel grinned, eyes flashing gold. “Absolutely. But how on earth are we going to occupy ourselves, Sam?”

“I don’t know, got any ideas?” Sam asked, returning Gabriel’s smirk.

Gabriel leaned closer. “A few.”

“Easy there,” Sam said with a laugh. “You at least have to buy me dinner first.”

Gabriel pouted. “Dinner’s a long time from now.” Then he brightened, and snapped again. A picnic table appeared nearby with an enormous variety of fruit, two plates with stacks of pancakes and huge pitchers of milk.

“How about breakfast instead?” Gabriel asked.

Sam raised an eyebrow, letting a slow smile come onto his face. “I’m in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be an epilogue tying this one to The Truth, picking up where it left off.


	5. Epilogue

Wrapped up (quite literally) in Cas, it took Dean a couple of minutes to realize he was being watched. He sat up quickly and saw Sam leaning against the cupboard.  

Dean watched as Sam absorbed the fact that he was with Cas. First shock (which was reasonable, he’d walked in on them after all), then confusion (because Dean didn’t cuddle, even shirtless), then irritation (they _were_ on Sam’s bed). Now his brother stood calmly, brow furrowed. Cas had moved away from Dean, but he still was still holding his hand and Dean was absolutely _not_ grateful for that.

Sam’s expression cleared suddenly. Dean braced himself.

“Okay.”          

“Wait—what?”

“Okay, you’re with Cas. Can’t say I’m surprised.”

Dean was annoyed by that (it would get worse over the next few days, but he didn’t know that). Still, it was better than Sam being angry.

Then Sam’s face went serious, and Dean’s stomach plummeted. Cas tightened his grip on his hand.

“I’ve just got one question Dean, and I need you to be one hundred percent honest with me, okay?”

Dean nodded. “Sure Sammy, anything.” _What does he want to know?_

Sam leaned forward, looking directly into Dean’s eyes.

“Do you believe in angels now?”

It took Cas’ full strength to hold Dean back.

Sam was howling with laughter, bent nearly double as Dean swore loudly at him. Then another laugh joined in, and Gabriel appeared next to Sam, arm curled nonchalantly around Sam’s waist.

“Now that was awesome!” Gabriel said, wiping his eyes. “Gotta hand it to you kiddo, you’ve got a sense of humour after all.”

“It was your joke,” Sam said generously. “I took my cue from the master.”

Dean finally stopped fighting Cas’ hold, relaxing back against his angel. _He’s mine now. What else matters?_ “Well aren’t you two hilarious,” he snapped.

“Well I don’t just like him for his hair,” Gabriel smirked, pulling Sam down into a quick kiss. Dean choked, and he felt Cas start against him.

“What—really Sam, the _Trickster?_ ”

“Yes, really, Dean.” Sam was pretending to be confident, but his eyes betrayed his concern.

Dean thought about it for a minute. “I did not see that coming in a million years, but whatever floats your boat I guess.” He glared at Gabriel. “Just don’t forget you’re dating my _little brother_ , and I know how to fry angels.”

Gabriel smiled sweetly. “Sure thing, as long as _you_ don’t forget that you’re dating _my_ little brother, and I can do a wondrous variety of things with a snap of my fingers.” He snapped, but all he did was put Dean and Cas’ shirts back on.

“Gabriel, don’t be ridiculous,” Cas said. He let go of Dean slowly and stood up. “You are both aware that such things won’t be necessary. I believe we have all learned the hard way about valuing each other.”

That stopped everyone’s laughter. Gabriel considered his brother, standing only a few feet away. “True words, Castiel. You always were the smartest.”

Cas tilted his head, approaching his brother carefully. “That isn’t true, and you know it. You wouldn’t have had to come back otherwise.”

Gabriel let go of Sam and stepped towards Cas, and for the first time ever Dean saw real fear in the angel’s eyes. “I came back because I wanted to make sure you were happy with your human, little bro. It wasn’t exactly a hard choice.”

“And now that you are back, will you stay?” Cas asked.

Gabriel shrugged, trying to smile. “If you want me to.”

Cas surged forward and wound his arms around Gabriel tightly, shocking the shorter man. “Of course I do,” he said, voice muffled in Gabriel’s shoulder. “Stay, brother, please…”

 Gabriel wrapped his arms around Cas, and there was a weird light movement: for a moment Dean could swear he saw wings, six gold and two jet black, winding around the angels. He blinked and they were gone, but judging by the awe in Sam’s face he’d seen them too.

Cas was the first one to pull back. “Thank you, brother. For everything.”

“Anytime, Cassie.” Gabriel’s eyes were suspiciously bright. “Anytime.” He clapped his hand suddenly, clearly done with the conversation. “So, where do you three want to go? We should celebrate! I mean, Sam and I already got started…”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Spare me the details.”

“You know what?” Sam asked. “Why don’t we just go home? It’s not far.”

Dean felt the familiar jolt of happiness when Sam called the Bunker ‘home’. “I’m in.”

Gabriel stretched his arms. “Your top secret domicile? Sounds great. We’ve got a lot to catch up on, from what Sam’s told me, and we may as well do it somewhere comfy.”

Cas pulled Dean to his feet. “Come, beloved, let’s go.”

And Dean _did not blush, shut up Sam._

Gabriel snapped his fingers and they were outside the motel, standing in front of the Impala. Without even discussing it, Sam got into the backseat, Gabriel sliding in next to him.

Dean held the passenger door for Cas. When he hesitated, he raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to sit in the back with the lovebirds?”

Cas smiled and got in. Dean walked around the car and sat down. He turned the key and Baby roared to life, rumbling under him. He turned his head and saw that Cas had his hand resting on the seat, palm up. Dean laced their fingers together.

“Both hands on the wheel!” Gabriel protested.

Dean met his eyes in the mirror. “Yeah, because you’re totally wearing a seat belt in my brother’s lap.”

“I’m an archangel!”

“And I will never let anything happen to Dean,” Cas answered his brother, squeezing Dean’s hand. “Now hush.”

And Gabriel actually shut up in favour of kissing Sam instead.

Dean smiled at Cas, rubbing his thumb over the angel’s knuckles. At some point they would have to talk about Gabriel’s return and their relationships and what they would do next, but it was astoundingly awesome to know that those were their biggest priorities right now. That for once they would be learning about people that made them happy, not monsters trying to kill them.

And looking at his angel, his eyes peaceful for the first time in years, in the mirror at his brother holding his own archangel, looking more relaxed than Dean thought he could be, and even Gabriel, who looked like he’d come home at last…well, maybe it was okay to let himself be happy for a while.

They’d all earned it, after all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that brings this part to a close! Thanks so much for reading, double to those who left kudos and comments. There's a couple more stories in this verse, so look out for those in the next few weeks. Cheers, Acme!


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